Abstract
BackgroundMental health problems in young people are an important public health issue. Students leaving their hometown and family at a young age to pursue better educational opportunities overseas are confronted with life adjustment stress, which in turn affects their mental health and academic performance. This study aimed to examine the relationships among stress, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms using the stress coping framework in overseas Chinese university preparatory students in Taiwan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at an overseas Chinese university preparatory institute in Taiwan. Of enrolled overseas Chinese university preparatory students at 2009, 756 completed a structured questionnaire measuring stress, strategies for coping with it, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.ResultsHigh levels of stress significantly predicted the adoption of active, problem-focused coping strategies (R2 = 0.13, p < .01) and passive, emotion-focused coping strategies (R2 = 0.24, p < .01). Acceptable CFI, SRMR, and RMSEA values from the structural equation modeling analysis demonstrated that the model satisfactorily fits the stress coping framework, after active coping strategies were eliminated from the model. Results from the Sobel test revealed that passive coping strategies mediated the relation between stress and depressive symptoms (z = 8.06, p < .001).ConclusionOur study results suggested that stress is associated with coping strategies and depressive symptoms and passive strategies mediate the relation between stress and depressive symptoms in overseas Chinese university preparatory students.
Highlights
Mental health problems in young people are an important public health issue
In this study, we analyzed the relations of stress, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms in a sample of overseas Chinese university preparatory students
We found that when these students faced severe stress, they were more likely to associate with passive coping strategies and depressive symptoms
Summary
Mental health problems in young people are an important public health issue Students leaving their hometown and family at a young age to pursue better educational opportunities overseas are confronted with life adjustment stress, which in turn affects their mental health and academic performance. Whether overseas students can successfully adjust to changes in their lives, meet their academic requirements, and maintain their emotional well-being is an important health issue for public health professionals and school counselors. Leave their home town and family at a young age to Previous studies have identified several stressors that overseas Chinese students encounter. They include difficulties with cultural, environmental, interpersonal, emotional, and academic adaptation. Among Overseas Chinese students studying in Taiwan, homesickness, fear of failure, depression, and feelings of loneliness were the most frequently reported problems [2]
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